Foldable egg crate



ct. l6 1923.

. A. B. WEBB FOLDABLE EGG CRATE Filed Nov. 10. 1921 2 Sheet-Sheet;

e/quqreyfi 44/221919 Oct. 16, 1923.

A. B. WEBB- FOLDABLE EGG CRATE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 10 1921 I i r l a A I Patented i6, I V i i s hw i My: A e net is r n i .ei i tee risonsn'z n'w'nnn, or onnnrnerrem were p'essrenonor onn finnrronoennr o. WILLINGHAITI, in, or en's onnninennignnnrnertr.

- ronn efann ensrn;

fipplication filed lqoveifn-ber 10, 1921. Serial 1%. l4,273.

To all whom it concern: ,7

. Be it known that I, A.UBREY lfi-uWnnrs,

a citizen of thev United States, residingst 7 device folded Cunningham, in the county ofG'srlisle and State of Kentuckyyheve invented certain new: and useful Improvements in; Foldable Egg Crates, of which the following is a specification; V i i I r This inventionirelates to oollapsiblecojn tainersend has speoiel'reference to crates or boxes for shipping eggs, the object of the invention being to provide 9. container 'which may befolded into a small compass when empty so that it:meybereturned to the origina shipper and used, indefinitely. The invention resides ineertein novel few miles which are illustrated Y in the accompanying drawings will be hereinafter first fully described and then iarticulerly' pointed out in the appended Claim.

In thefdrawings q -Figure lie a perspective view of'my improved container showing the same it appearswhen set up for use before being filled; r

- n Fig. 2 is a transverse section onthefline: 2-2 of Fig. 1 with the top members in.

closed position; r

Fig. 3 is alongitudinal'section onthe line 3 of Fig. 2 withthe tops in closed position; 'o v Fig. '41s a perspective View showing the line 5 -5 of Fig. 4;

In carrying out my invention, I employ a bottom 1 which is preferably of sheet metal and is providedwith the longitudinal upstanding flanges 2 wand the I transverse upstanding -flangesf3 {at its side and end edges respectivelygfl'lhesaid fianges ere elongated eyes or sleeves 4:, the purpose of which will presentlyrgoappear, and the. side proyided at their {up er edges with aline'd flanges 2 are slightly higher than the end flanges 3, as clearly shown The sidemembers 5 are also constructed of sheetfmetal and are provided at their lower edges with eyes or heads 6 which are adapted to fit;

V 5 between and in alinement with the eyes or sleeves 4: upon the side flanges 2 and receive apinor rod 7 whereby the'sides and the side flanges will be hingedly connected.

The side members are further provided'et' their ends with eyes orbeads, 8 whichjzi re adapted to fit between and inlalmement Weizmann sorirrwnsnnr' wees, or

with ,Sllllllitl e VGS or sleeves 9 upon the end members-10', P1115701 rods being inserted throngh the said alined eyesfor sleeves so; thetthe endsend sides willbe held together when in upright position, as 'shownin Fig.

'Theends of thefp'ins. engaged in the said eyes 8 and 9 may be turned laterally,

asshown zit-l1, sot-hat they will be pre I vented-fromdropping through the eyes or here, The bottommemberl is doubled 'upon [sleeves and releasing the side and end memitse'lfor crimped transversely atits centen j as shown at -12, and on theupper edge of fthe said crimped portion, I form-ey es or tubulz rmembers 13 between which mavfit similar eyes 14 ron'a 'the-pertition 15. This; pert ion 15,,like ell theotherinembers of? the orate isiformed into two fillerreeeiving. compartments when theorate is set up i'or el Nee-r its upper edge,-the partition is equippedwith pivotelly mounted hooks 16 which are adapted to engage eyes orsimiler members 17 on the respectively adgatained inen upright positioni A pin-'18 is inserted through the alined eyes or sleeves l3 and "14 softhatthe partition will be centside members 5 sothatrthe side mem- Y bers and the partition will befimutuellysus- 7 35" hin'gedly connected withthe'bot'tom' 1 end 7' maybe readily swung down onto the bot tomgwhen the orate 18 to becollstpsed, [Pins 7 19ers inserted through the eyesor sleeves 41,011 the end flsnges 3 and similar eyes 20' I formed at the edges oi the end members l0so-tha tfthe end members will be hingedly oonnectedto thebottom in the same n' i'anner that the side membersere connectedthe'reto The end members end thepartition are 7 preferably ofsuchidimensions that their'. upper edge will be fiush'with the upper edges of; the "side members and; the end members arelfurther provided with eyes or sleevesfll at their upper edgeswhich are adapted to alinewithjeyesor sleeves r 22011, thetop members 23' and receive pins" 24 whereby the said top members are "hinged to-the end members; ,Tlle top members are I of such dimensions that their free edges:

will meet over the partition -5 and one of:

said members is provided at its free edge 1 with a central eye or sleeve 25, While the other of said members is provided with spaced eyes or sleeves 26 adapted to aline V V 7 members 7 are brought togethen'a pin 27 being 111-;

with the sleeve When the top it serted throughthe said eyes so as to ro 1 be fastenedby the pin: i'nthe described tain the members in folded position over the crate and said pin being provided with an opening 27 to receive a cotter pin or sealing Wire.

' ;When the crate is set up for use as it appears in Fig. 1, the sides and end members Willbe disposed in the vertical planes of the. side and end flanges on the bottom and will be firmly held in said position by'the described connections at their meeting edges which form the corners of the set up crate as well as by the hooks and eyeslG and 17 nponthe partition and the side members The egg fillers are placed Within the crate in the risualjmanner and after: the crate has been v filleth-the top member are folded over to rest upon the upper edges of the side members d the partition and manner. The several parts o'jthe crate will V'thus reinforce each other so that the crate ,I SIHOh apt tocollapse While being transport partition 5 is releasedfitrom bees by disengaging the hooks 16m anobed. "Aft-er tljie edges have been removed the the side memvious manner and the partition may then be folded'down upon the bottom 1 in the position shown iii-Fig. 5. The end members are then released from the side members by the withdrawal of the pins fittingivithin the sleeves S and 9, and'the end and top members are then swung successively down i-over the partition and intothe spacedefined by the flanges of the bottom, as shown in i Fig.-

afterl W" ich the side members are respectively folded over upon the bottom,

as shown and as will be readily nnc erstood.

In order to retain the parts in this collapsed condition, a fastennm Wire 28 or s milar fastening may be inserted through openings 29 and 30 providedinone side member'o and one end flange '3, as shown clearly in I Firrj so that accidental se aeration of the parts will be prevented and the'crate may be returned to the original shi met" in a a y x very compact condition.

gltwill' be readily noted ,lshipment.

members 10,'it so desired.

fronr the foregoing descript on taken in connection with theaccompanymg drawings that I have nevoees tation of a filled crate and will at the same time permit the crate to be easily sl d over a platform when being transferred from one vehicle to another or from a Warehouse.

To further facilitatethe handling of a filled crate, handles, indicated in dotted'lmes at in Fig. 1, may be provided upon the end Having thus described the inventiom what is claimed as new is'.

A collapsible crate comprisingja bottom plate having upstanding slde' and end flanges, the side flanges being higher'than the end flanges apartition hinged to the bottom plate transversely atthe center of the same and adapted to "swing doivn upon the bottom-and he fiat thereon, end members hinged to the end flanges of the bottom'and adapted to fold over the bottom between the side flanges thereon and overlie the partition, top members hingedly connected to the tree edges of the end memhers and adapted in collapsed condition to lie between the side flanges o f thebottom -W1tl1 one top member overlapping a'nend member and one stop member overlapped by an end member, the free ec gee o'f'the top members meeting over the partition n set up position and provided with alined eyes, a locking pin. engageable through said eyes side members hinged to'the. respective side flanges of the bottomand adapted to fold over the some with one side member overlying" the other side member and both side members above the endimembers and the top members, sleeves on the meeting ends of the end and slde members arranged to' aline in set up position and lockingpins removably engageable in said sle'eves.- t t l fl ii' t I in es imony vv mieo V a 1X my signa nre,

AUBREY 13." WEBB. s] 

